UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mayan ruins of Palenque

The shrieking, steaming jungle that surrounds the ancient plaza and pyramid ruins of Palenque may have once overcome the old city completely, but partial excavations have revealed extensive bass-relief frieze work and hieroglyphic inscriptions that tell of its rise and fall. You’ll learn how to decipher inscriptions and hear the story of this Mayan seat of art and power, but the subsequent dip in a nearby waterfall will more readily make apparent why the original inhabitants chose to live in such a place, and at one time to thrive.